


The Hostage

by EllynoreMoonwood, MelissaTreglia



Series: The Darkness Verse [15]
Category: Real Person Fiction, Video Blogging RPF
Genre: Angst and Feels, Audio Content, Audio Format: Streaming, Backstory, Consequences, Darkiplier Mark Fischbach, Darkiplier is a creepy bastard, Darkiplier is a manipulative dickbag, Darkiplier is a scary sonnuvabitch, Dealfic, Demon & Human Interactions, Demon Deals, Demons, Demons Are Assholes, Dialogue Heavy, Elder God, Emotional Baggage, Emotional Hurt/Comfort, Emotional Manipulation, Explicit Language, Fandom Allusions & Cliches & References, Gallows Humor, Gen, Good versus Evil, Horror, Implied/Referenced Torture, Literary References & Allusions, Lovecraftian Monster(s), Markiplier Alter Egos, Real Life, Screenplay/Script Format, Supernatural Elements
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-10-30
Updated: 2017-10-30
Packaged: 2019-04-17 03:13:05
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,858
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14179278
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/EllynoreMoonwood/pseuds/EllynoreMoonwood, https://archiveofourown.org/users/MelissaTreglia/pseuds/MelissaTreglia
Summary: I have arrived in the Shadow Realm, that Dark calls His home. But not all is well with this seemingly peaceful conversation between a human woman and a Lovecraftian entity.





	The Hostage

**Author's Note:**

> VOICE ACTORS:  
> Melissa Treglia as herself  
> Ellynore Moonwood as Darkiplier
> 
> EDITING AND FX: Ellynore Moonwood  
> AUDIO PLAY by Melissa Treglia

  _[We OPEN in the Shadow Realm, the empty void between worlds that Dark currently calls His home.]_

 **DARK:**  So, My dear. It seems that we cross paths again.

 **MELISSA:**  Seems like. Gotta say though, Daddy’s girl is a real pistol.

 **DARK:**   _[low chuckle]_  Indeed. She can be a handful at times.

 **MELISSA:**  Might I recommend the occasional time-out?

_[Dark chooses to ignore that statement completely.]_

**DARK:**  I have your favourite tea and some chocolate.  _[A dish is moved on the table.]_ You still enjoy chocolate, don’t you?

 **MELISSA:**  Yeah.

 **DARK:**  You’re not happy?

 **MELISSA:**  Well… I did promise my readers I’d bring You to them. You… of course, You already know.

 **DARK:**  That I do. I am, however, most interested in how you would choose to describe it.

 **MELISSA:**   _[sighs]_

 **DARK:**  This is agonizing for you, isn’t it? You are not the steely-eyed, opinionated matriarch you like to pretend online. You’re still the painfully shy wallflower with her nose in her books, just like when you were younger. A wounded dove playing at being the tiger, while never quite stepping out of her comfort zone.

 **MELISSA:**  I don’t pretend. I get anxious. I just… find it easier to express myself through my writing. Talking to people… words can fail you, your tongue gets tied… not all of us mere mortals have Your particular skillset, Sir. To shmooze the living daylights out of anybody in earshot. _[beat]_ No offense.

 **DARK:** _[amused chuckle]_  None taken. Your words, after all, are your greatest asset. Far be it from Me to halt your self-expression.

 **MELISSA:**  Um… so… what now?

 **DARK:**  Whatever do you mean?

 **MELISSA:**  Playing dumb is not a good look for You, Sir.

 **DARK:** Mind your tongue when you speak to Me, little girl. Or did your mother never teach you to be respectful of your elders?

 **MELISSA:** Don’t bring my mother into this. What did she ever do to You?

 **DARK:**  Nothing. Just as I have no intention of doing anything to her.

 **MELISSA:**  When You put it that way, that’s… not exactly comforting, y'know.

 **DARK:** You have a choice, My dear. Life is all about choices, after all.

 **MELISSA:**   _[under her breath]_  Oh boy.

 **DARK:** And tell me, My dear, what choices have you made in life? How many times have you allowed yourself to be swept up by the winds of chance?

 **MELISSA:** Five years ago, I made a choice to stop being miserable, to stop hiding from life, and to face my issues head-on. You might be scary and extra demon-y, but there’s nothing You can do to me that could possibly be as bad as that moment of hopelessness. That moment when I hit rock bottom.

 **DARK:**  How can you be so sure?

 **MELISSA:**  Because I still have my hope. I still have the will to go on. I lost it then, but I had to lose it in order to find myself. Anything You might say to me now to get under my skin… I’ve told myself once before, but with less tact.

 **DARK:** You think very little of yourself.

 **MELISSA:**  Sometimes. It’s called depression. You can Google it. I’ve got meds for it and everything. Doesn’t mean I actually believe I’m a bad person.

 **DARK:**  But there is pain and fear.

 **MELISSA:**  I never said there wasn’t. We’re all afraid of something, but I’ve made peace with it.

 **DARK:**  I fear nothing.

 **MELISSA:**  Now who’s pretending?

_[The silence between them pulses, as they stare each other down.]_

**DARK:**  You claim to be at peace, yet I sense something more. Perhaps it requires closer examination.

 **MELISSA:**  Look all You want, Big Guy. There’s nothing to find. My conscience is clean.

 **DARK:**  Oh no, there is something there.

_[Another brief moment of silence between them, this one heavy with meaning.]_

**DARK:** But no matter. _[beat]_ How is the book coming along, by any chance?

_[Melissa takes a breath, obviously relieved that she’s not as clearly under His scrutiny.]_

**MELISSA:**  The book is done.

 **DARK:**  And?

 **MELISSA:**  And… _[coughs]_ We’re… uh, trying to find a publisher for it.

 **DARK:**  If I may be so bold, when is the last time you sent your queries out?

 **MELISSA:**  I…

 **DARK:** There is nothing to worry about… unless you’re afraid your work will never truly be accepted.  _[beat]_  You gave ten years of your life over to that magnum opus and, even after you’ve polished it till it gleams, it remains unread by the general populace. Perhaps… it’s not as good as you thought.

 **MELISSA:**  Hey!

 **DARK:**  Or, perhaps, you’re not as good as you thought.  _[beat]_  It rankles, doesn’t it? Remembering that first time you tried to sell your work. Five years ago, wasn’t it? A remarkable coincidence.

 **MELISSA:** Yeah, okay. My handling – or lack thereof – of the initial rejections were a factor in my hospitalization. But, I learned from that… Not to place my self-value on any one project, no matter how important it may be to me. Nothing is worth sacrificing my sanity over.

 **DARK:** A wise conclusion. Yet, you still hesitate.

 **MELISSA:** Look, like most people, my life is a work in progress. The book is very important to me, yeah. It could potentially seal my future in horror lit. and the future of my co-writer. And… well, that’s a lot to take in, a lot riding on its success. You need to step back sometimes and rethink your strategy. Start small, and work your way up.

 **DARK:** You seem to have it all figured out.

 **MELISSA:** Hardly. I’m bumbling my way through it, for the most part. If something works, it works. If not, that’s fine too. I’ll get over it. Eventually. Being human means making mistakes, and learning from them.

 **DARK:** You have worked so hard, all these years. Would it not be easier, if I smoothed the process for you?

 **MELISSA:** What would You get out of it? Why would You want to help me?

 **DARK:** I have My reasons.

 **MELISSA:**  Gee, could You vague that up a little more?  _[beat]_  Look, it’s been a long, long day and I’m a little tired. So, let’s get to the point already. My readers gave me what they could in the last week as tribute to You. And now I’m here on their behalf to ask You to come back to my blog and interact with them again.

 **DARK:**  I accept their proposal.

 **MELISSA:** Really? Well, that was easy. Can I go now?

 **DARK:** Not just yet. There is still the matter between you and I that must be settled. The potential deal still on the table.

 **MELISSA:** Nuh-uh. There’s no deal. You and me? We’re done here.

 **DARK:**  That sure of the matter, are you?

 **MELISSA:**  Uh… yeah! There’s nothing You can tell me that will convince me to negotiate anything with You.

 **DARK:** Not even this?

_[There’s the dull thud of a heavy volume hitting the table.]_

**MELISSA:**  What is this?

 **DARK:**  It’s a book.

 **MELISSA:** I can see that. Of what?

 **DARK:** Open it and find out.

_[Melissa flips the cover open, and begins turning the pages.]_

**MELISSA:**  No way… This… this isn’t possible…

 **DARK:** You may not wish to believe it, but the proof is in your hands. It is all very, very real.

 **MELISSA:** It’s my entire life.

 **DARK:** Your biography – from the hospital you were born in, to the events in your life just before our initial meeting in August.

 **MELISSA:** That’s… that’s almost everything. How is this possible? How could You have all that information about me right here?  _[beat]_  You…You wanted to show me this. Why?

 **DARK:** I merely wanted you to understand the consequences should you choose not to cooperate with Me. The consequences for defying Me.

 **MELISSA:** I don’t understand.

 **DARK:** Oh, believe Me, you will. _[beat]_ This is more than just a recounting of your life’s story. It is how you store your old memories. Appropriate, really, an exquisite leather-bound hardcover for an aspiring author. The container for one’s memories depends on the individual. Some choose a chest of childhood toys, or of clothing, or a menagerie of collectibles. For you… books have always been your closest friends and confidantes.

 **MELISSA:** I don’t think I like where this is going…

 **DARK:**  Then you’ll like what happens next even less. Defiling a book is like sacrilege to you, one of the faithful, voracious readers. Isn’t it? Books can fall apart, their spines broken and the pages drifting away. And no memories, no matter how much you wish them, can stay safe for all of time. Some are forgotten despite the attempt to hold on, and some you merely choose to forget.  _[He rips a page out of the book.]_ And some… can be destroyed.

 **MELISSA:** Oh, hell no.

 **DARK:**  This one is the memory of your childhood friend, the one from kindergarten. What was her name?

 **MELISSA:** Nancy.

_[He tears up the page, and she gives a quiet gasp.]_

**DARK:**  Now, can you tell Me what she looked like?

 **MELISSA:** …No. I… I can’t remember.

 **DARK:**  You’ve lived three and a half decades, My dear. That is quite a span of time by mortal reckoning. A lot of memories you created, all of which made you who you are. How many memories are you willing to lose?

_[He rips another page out of the book.]_

**DARK:** Oh, this is a lovely one. The first boy you ever kissed.

 **MELISSA:**  Go to hell.

 **DARK:**  I’ve been there, and I’ve done that.  _[beat]_  But what is your personal hell? That moment you lost control of your mind. And the knowledge of how easily everything can slip away, the fear of not being yourself when that darkness within you takes over. You’ve seen what the loss of memory did to your family friend, how she was merely a shadow of the woman she had once been. There is nothing left of her now, because her mind is too far gone. What do you suppose will happen to you, when your memories are gone?

 **MELISSA:** Don’t You dare!

_[Dark tears up the page. She cries out, and it’s clear now this is causing her real pain.]_

**DARK:** And now, that fond memory of that sweet and innocent boy during a simple, happy time is gone. _[beat]_ You have so few happy memories, My dear. How many more can you possibly spare?

 **MELISSA:** You son of a bitch!

 **DARK:**  Ah. How about this one? _[He rips a page out.]_ The memory of the day you met your future intended. That day you first saw the man you so love, and so very much want to spend your remaining years with. One of the happiest memories of your life.

 **MELISSA:**   _[anguished]_ PLEASE, DON’T! Don’t take that from me! Don’t… don’t take him from me…

_[She sobs, broken.]_

**DARK:** And now we are getting somewhere.  _[beat]_  Dry your eyes, sweet Melissa. There is no need for tears. You chose this, after all. Things would have been so much easier had you chosen to cooperate with Me.

_[She sniffles.]_

**DARK:**  Now, shall we discuss our terms?

 **MELISSA:**  Yes, Sir.

_[END SCENE]_

**Author's Note:**

> Special thanks to Ellynore Moonwood for lending her voice and editing expertise to this collaboration!


End file.
